Glossary
Web Developer Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential web developer terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key web developer vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in web developer training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Accessibility (WCAG)
- Guidelines making sites usable for people with disabilities.
- API
- Application programming interface: a way for programs to exchange data.
- Back end
- Servers, databases and logic behind a site.
- Core Web Vitals
- Google’s metrics for loading, interactivity and visual stability.
- CSS
- The language that styles web pages.
- Deployment
- Publishing code to a live server.
- Framework
- A library or structure for building apps, such as React.
- Front end
- The part of a site users see and interact with.
- Git
- Version control software for tracking code changes.
- HTML
- The markup language that structures web content.
- HTTPS
- Secure, encrypted web connections.
- JavaScript
- The programming language that adds interactivity to web pages.
- Repository
- A project’s code and history stored in version control.
- Responsive design
- Layouts that adapt to different screen sizes.
- SEO
- Search engine optimization: helping pages rank in search results.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Web Developer practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Web Developer training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.